We got to hear from Sam Pittman about his new contract yesterday afternoon...
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE — As excited as fans were when Sam Pittman’s new contract was announced last week, no one was happier than the coach himself.
His new deal could keep him under contract through the 2027 season and pays $5 million annually, plus it’s chock full of incentives and automatic raises, but more than anything, Pittman is just glad it’s finally done.
“In all honesty, even though you're not trying to think about it, as it continues to go longer and longer, it wears on you, and you don't want it to,” Pittman said. “You're getting paid, you have a job to do, but when we signed it, it was a relief and an honor.”
Pittman and athletics director Hunter Yurachek had both been on record that the main part of the contract had been agreed upon a while back, but all of the small details were still being ironed out.
It wasn’t until last Tuesday at SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla., that they two sides had a physical contract in hand and could put pen to paper. They did so in Yurachek’s room and then went out to dinner with men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman, women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors and other UA staff members.
“it was a wonderful night for not only myself, but for Jamie as well,” Pittman said. “It was really cool that we got to celebrate that night together. Just a privilege and honor to be the head coach at Arkansas and that's how I felt.”
In addition to being paid a base salary of $5 million and the usual incentives for postseason success, Pittman can trigger raises — not bonuses — of $250,000 for winning seven games, $500,000 for winning eight games and $750,000 for winning nine games. Those amounts are non-cumulative, but he’s eligible for those raises each year.
For example, if the Razorbacks win eight games this season, Pittman’s salary for the remaining five years in his contract would automatically jump up to $5.5 million annually. If he follows that up with another eight-win season in 2023, he’d get paid $6 million annually the next four years.
In theory, Pittman’s base salary in the final year of his contract could be $8.75 million if Arkansas wins at least nine games in each of the next five seasons.
“I was very, very pleased and happy with the contract and the incentives in it,” Pittman said. “If I want to get paid more money, we need to win more football games. … I thought it was fair for both, and I was very conscious of wanting it to be fair for the University as well.”
There are also retention bonuses built in to Pittman’s contract. Assuming he has at least one seven-win season to trigger the one-year extension through 2027, he could receive an additional $7.5 million if he remains in place the entire length of the term.
Those will be made in three separate lump-sum payments, but averaged across the entire contract, it’s another $1.25 million annually. Essentially, as long as he stays employed, Pittman’s average salary will $6.25 million before any of the aforementioned potential raises.
Perhaps the aspect he’s most excited about, though, is the non-compete clause — which stemmed from comments he made in an interview with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter just four games into his tenure back in 2020.
“This statement is probably going to cost me a little bit of money one of these days, but this is it for me,” Pittman told Van Pelt. “I’m not interested in any other program. Arkansas is truly the greatest program in America to me.
“I grew up 75 miles from here, I have a lake home on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, my wife is from Pittsburg, Kansas, and we’re home and this is where we want to be. And this will be my last job.”
That’s a sentiment Pittman has repeated numerous times since he was hired in December of 2019, so it was suggested to him that his next contract include a non-compete clause preventing him from taking another job within the SEC.
He was all onboard for it, even touting it back in April, long before the deal was finalized, because he saw the benefit is could provide on the recruiting trail.
“I'm pleased this will be my last coaching job,” Pittman said. “The non-compete in the SEC is basically stating stability. That's what I wanted. I wanted to be able to use that in recruiting, and we certainly have as recently as five minutes ago."
That stability extends to the coordinators. Much to the surprise of those outside the program, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and defensive coordinator Barry Odom are still on the staff, despite being pursued by multiple programs.
According to research by HawgBeat, Arkansas is one of only eight Power Five schools — out of 65 total — entering a third season with the same head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
“The portal has been around a long time for football coaches, so I thought we could sell some stability, and that's why I wanted it in the contract,” Pittman said. “I told the people of Arkansas that this would be my last job and I wanted a piece of paper to confirm what my mouth said.”
Another slight change in the new contract are the thresholds for Pittman’s automatic raises. His first contract had those built in, as well, but they were for one fewer win. For example, to get a $250,000 raise, he needed to win six games instead of seven.
However, those win totals now include bowl games, as long as they’re against a Power Five or top-25 school. Previously, it was based on regular-season wins, so it’s not a very big change.
“That was a change in there, which we certainly understand,” Pittman said. “The program is different than it was a couple years ago.”
That is quite the understatement by Pittman. When he took over as head coach, Arkansas was coming off the worst two-year stretch in school history with back-to-back 2-10 seasons that included blowout losses to the likes of North Texas and Western Kentucky.
Pittman has completely changed the perception of the program and apparently, based on comments by players, also changed the mentality of the team.
“I think he just restored the hope,” tight end Trey Knox said. “This is a proud state. We say it all the time. We play with a chip on our shoulder. This man, he could finish his coaching career here. We love him, the fans love him, and he’s brought that grittiness, that toughness that we’re going to go out there every week and hit you in the mouth until you quit.”
Pittman talks about new deal: 'It was a relief and an honor'
Sam Pittman discussed his new contract with the media Tuesday afternoon.
FAYETTEVILLE — As excited as fans were when Sam Pittman’s new contract was announced last week, no one was happier than the coach himself.
His new deal could keep him under contract through the 2027 season and pays $5 million annually, plus it’s chock full of incentives and automatic raises, but more than anything, Pittman is just glad it’s finally done.
“In all honesty, even though you're not trying to think about it, as it continues to go longer and longer, it wears on you, and you don't want it to,” Pittman said. “You're getting paid, you have a job to do, but when we signed it, it was a relief and an honor.”
Pittman and athletics director Hunter Yurachek had both been on record that the main part of the contract had been agreed upon a while back, but all of the small details were still being ironed out.
It wasn’t until last Tuesday at SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla., that they two sides had a physical contract in hand and could put pen to paper. They did so in Yurachek’s room and then went out to dinner with men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman, women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors and other UA staff members.
“it was a wonderful night for not only myself, but for Jamie as well,” Pittman said. “It was really cool that we got to celebrate that night together. Just a privilege and honor to be the head coach at Arkansas and that's how I felt.”
In addition to being paid a base salary of $5 million and the usual incentives for postseason success, Pittman can trigger raises — not bonuses — of $250,000 for winning seven games, $500,000 for winning eight games and $750,000 for winning nine games. Those amounts are non-cumulative, but he’s eligible for those raises each year.
For example, if the Razorbacks win eight games this season, Pittman’s salary for the remaining five years in his contract would automatically jump up to $5.5 million annually. If he follows that up with another eight-win season in 2023, he’d get paid $6 million annually the next four years.
In theory, Pittman’s base salary in the final year of his contract could be $8.75 million if Arkansas wins at least nine games in each of the next five seasons.
“I was very, very pleased and happy with the contract and the incentives in it,” Pittman said. “If I want to get paid more money, we need to win more football games. … I thought it was fair for both, and I was very conscious of wanting it to be fair for the University as well.”
There are also retention bonuses built in to Pittman’s contract. Assuming he has at least one seven-win season to trigger the one-year extension through 2027, he could receive an additional $7.5 million if he remains in place the entire length of the term.
Those will be made in three separate lump-sum payments, but averaged across the entire contract, it’s another $1.25 million annually. Essentially, as long as he stays employed, Pittman’s average salary will $6.25 million before any of the aforementioned potential raises.
Perhaps the aspect he’s most excited about, though, is the non-compete clause — which stemmed from comments he made in an interview with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter just four games into his tenure back in 2020.
“This statement is probably going to cost me a little bit of money one of these days, but this is it for me,” Pittman told Van Pelt. “I’m not interested in any other program. Arkansas is truly the greatest program in America to me.
“I grew up 75 miles from here, I have a lake home on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, my wife is from Pittsburg, Kansas, and we’re home and this is where we want to be. And this will be my last job.”
That’s a sentiment Pittman has repeated numerous times since he was hired in December of 2019, so it was suggested to him that his next contract include a non-compete clause preventing him from taking another job within the SEC.
He was all onboard for it, even touting it back in April, long before the deal was finalized, because he saw the benefit is could provide on the recruiting trail.
“I'm pleased this will be my last coaching job,” Pittman said. “The non-compete in the SEC is basically stating stability. That's what I wanted. I wanted to be able to use that in recruiting, and we certainly have as recently as five minutes ago."
That stability extends to the coordinators. Much to the surprise of those outside the program, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and defensive coordinator Barry Odom are still on the staff, despite being pursued by multiple programs.
According to research by HawgBeat, Arkansas is one of only eight Power Five schools — out of 65 total — entering a third season with the same head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
“The portal has been around a long time for football coaches, so I thought we could sell some stability, and that's why I wanted it in the contract,” Pittman said. “I told the people of Arkansas that this would be my last job and I wanted a piece of paper to confirm what my mouth said.”
Another slight change in the new contract are the thresholds for Pittman’s automatic raises. His first contract had those built in, as well, but they were for one fewer win. For example, to get a $250,000 raise, he needed to win six games instead of seven.
However, those win totals now include bowl games, as long as they’re against a Power Five or top-25 school. Previously, it was based on regular-season wins, so it’s not a very big change.
“That was a change in there, which we certainly understand,” Pittman said. “The program is different than it was a couple years ago.”
That is quite the understatement by Pittman. When he took over as head coach, Arkansas was coming off the worst two-year stretch in school history with back-to-back 2-10 seasons that included blowout losses to the likes of North Texas and Western Kentucky.
Pittman has completely changed the perception of the program and apparently, based on comments by players, also changed the mentality of the team.
“I think he just restored the hope,” tight end Trey Knox said. “This is a proud state. We say it all the time. We play with a chip on our shoulder. This man, he could finish his coaching career here. We love him, the fans love him, and he’s brought that grittiness, that toughness that we’re going to go out there every week and hit you in the mouth until you quit.”
